Wii Head Tracking

**TinCow** · 01-25-2008, 14:43

This has simply blown me away, both with its amazing potential and with its simplicity. Watch the whole video.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd3-eiid-Uw

His website is here:
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/projects/wii/

**Husar** · 01-25-2008, 16:05

Not really surprising after his last project wherehe already explained the IR sensor of the Wii remote. You can also buy those Track IRs for the PC for some time already although they're mostly used to look around in simulations as far as I'm aware. Oh and they're more expensive. What he shows here looks pretty nice but I cannot see the use of this yet. Yes, you get to look at the TV as some sort of window and it looks cool etc. but what practical use would that have in games? Except maybe controlling the game with your head instead of your hand.

**TinCow** · 01-25-2008, 16:44

The practical use in games is showing the player a fully 3D environment without the need for a VR headset or red/blue goggles. Imagine playing Crysis of CoD and seeing projectiles and debris fly out of the screen at you. Imagine being able to peek around corners just by tilting your head. It would vastly increase the level of immersion.

In addition, it would also have the potential to make FPS games more athletic, along the lines of DDR and Wii Sports, both of which have become popular as alternatives to the boring old cardio workout. I'll take an hour of dodging bullets in Quake over 30 minutes on an exercise bike any day of the week.

**Husar** · 01-25-2008, 16:51

I'm waiting for the Wii treadmill then.

And the full-3D environment is still confined to a 2D screen, like I said it looks nice, but there are those 3D goggles which may be better suited if you want that. And I dare to assume they're cheaper than a Wiimote + big LCD-TV

**Whacker** · 01-25-2008, 17:03

God Tincow, this is OLD NEWS! Get with the times already!

This guy has some utterly amazing ideas. It's not really even so much for gaming, as much as for the business and consumer world and the implications for interactive applications and hardware. In all seriousness, I'd keep an eye on this guy, I think he's going to be one of the big movers and shakers in technology innovation in the next few decades.

Also Husar, there's already a treadmill for gaming, but it doesn't work like you think. You basically force the kids to walk and as they keep walking, it will supply power to their gaming consoles which will then stay on and they can play. You can limit them to certain amounts of usage per day too, and they have to walk on the treadmill to play. I can't find a link to it and Google was being a pain, but you can look around for it.

**Husar** · 01-25-2008, 17:15

I agree this guy has some good ideas, I just found some of the others more useful than this particular one to be honest.

Of course I want a treadmill for realistic movement in shooters. That way the more corpulent players will also be forced to use sniper classes or their fat will be used up while playing.

I could also use some cardio training, despite being rather thin.

**TinCow** · 01-25-2008, 17:28

Originally Posted by Whacker

God Tincow, this is OLD NEWS! Get with the times already!

Yeah, I was totally unaware of Track IR until I saw this, so the concept was new to me, even if not to the industry. I guess that's something of a commentary on Track IR's marketing department more than anything. Plus, you can get a Wii remote and tracker bar for $55, which is less than 1/3 the price of Track IR and eminently affordable for most gamers. Now we just need games that will support head tracking, since Track IR is supported by pretty much nothing I'm interested in.